During disassembly processes, it is sometimes necessary to remove a fastener from a work-piece being disassembled. During this procedure, specialized tools may be employed to loosen the aforementioned fastener from the work-piece being disassembled. One example of such a tool may include a socket wrench.
Examples of known socket wrenches generally have proven valuable, in part, due to their interchangeable sockets that are generally designed to mount upon a driving stub of a socket wrench head. Each socket may further be configured to make a snug sliding fit upon, for instance, a polygonal head of a rotatable threaded fastener such as a bolt or a nut for example. Such sockets may be used with any of several fastener driving tools which include a socket wrench as stated above, or a pneumatic nut driver, or a screwdriver type hand tool which has a shaft with a socket at the end.
Alternatively, the socket may be designed to essentially contain a functional end specialized, for example, for holding and retaining a bit. The bit design may correspond to a mating design, for instance, in a top head of a fastener such as a screw. Once the bit is placed in the mated design of the screw head, a torque can be applied to the bit via the retaining socket bit holder in order to turn the screw head accordingly.
A number of problems may exist, however, in various attempts to remove a fastener, such as a screw, from an assembly using the aforementioned bit held and retained by a socket bit holder. For example, over time, a fastener, such as a bolt, may become rusted within an assembly. In this instance, a greater torque may need to be applied to the bolt head. In an instance where a bit was utilized to turn the bolt head, a greater torque would need to be applied to the bit via the socket bit holder. It may be common, given the additional applied torque needed to turn the bolt head, that the bit breaks. Such an occurrence typically occurs approximately mid-way up the length of the bit during attempts to disassemble the bolt head in this fashion.
Another problem may occur from difficulty in trying to hold the bit square to the bolt as torque is applied to the bit. In order to transfer the greatest amount of torque to the bolt via the bit held and retained by the socket bit holder, it is of some importance to align and maintain alignment throughout the torque process of the bit with respect to the bolt head. Misalignment of the bit relative to the bolt head could cause a loss of torque energy necessary to turn the bolt and, hence, remove it from the assembly. Furthermore, misalignment in the aforementioned manner may cause the bolt to become stripped, either along its threaded portion in the assembly itself or within the mated design of the screw head for receiving the bit held and retained by the socket bit holder.
Additionally, another problem may arise in finding an automatic tool head capable of adapting to the mated design configuration of a fastener head such as one utilized within a bolt head. For instance, in the automobile industry, a torx® bolt having a torx® bolt design in the screw head may commonly be utilized in the attachment and securement of components. Torx® driving systems provide a standard fastener head with a star shaped counterbore in the top face of the fastener that is a drive by a tool having complementary star shaped protruding stub from the tool end. The stub design maybe in the form of removable interchangeable bits.
Torx® driving systems generally allow high torque transmission to the counterbore in the top face of the fastener that is driven by a tool. The tool end of a torx® tool maybe typically include straight vertical sidewalls incorporated into the design of the complementary shaped protruding stub of the tool end. This design works to virtually eliminate a can-out effect of the tool end since little or no end load is required to keep the tool end engaged within the recess of the counterbore in the top face of the fastener.
Additional advantages of torx® driving systems may include reducing tool slippage with respect to the counterbore of a fastener. This would also work to eliminate/reduce damage to both the tool and fastener. An additional advantage may include reduction in wear to the drive bit and, hence, extending the life of the tool. Because torx® driving systems generally facilitate the turning of torx® bolts, reduction of muscle fatigue and/or muscular stress can result during manual assembly/disassembly. This, in part, is due to the design of the torx® driving system which works to achieve maximum engagement between the tool end and the counterbore of the torx® driving system which works to achieve a maximum engagement between the tool end and the counterbore of the torx® bolt. Furthermore, the aforementioned connection is designed to spread the driving forces over a larger contact area to ensure optimal torque transmission for the required applied load.
One such component where Torx® fasteners are used may include attaching seat belt assemblies to a portion or portions of an automobile surface. Whereas a ½″ impact wrench for vibratory removal may be readily available, there may not exist a common conversion tool adapter to allow the wrench to couple to the fastener such as the torx® bolt design of the torx® bolt. Hence, the benefits of using an automated tool to remove fasteners such as bolts may not be realized unless a proper adapter is retrofitted to couple the tool to the head of the bolt. Such benefits may be important to realize greater torque values applied to the fastener head and increasing the speed of the disassembly process in general.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that is capable of removing fasteners from an assembly by applying suitable amounts of torque without damaging the apparatus and/or fastener. Additionally, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for removing fasteners from an assembly by holding the apparatus square to the fastener in order to maximize any applied torque to the fastener during removal from the assembly. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for removing fasteners from an assembly by coupling the fastener to an adapter for an available impact wrench or other retrofitted tools.